


Ave Maria

by afterandalasia



Category: Swan Princess (1994), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)
Genre: Catholic Character, Community: disney_kink, Creepy, Creepy Frollo, Crossover Pairings, Dark, F/M, Obsession, Prayer, Psychological Horror
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-12-13
Updated: 2010-12-13
Packaged: 2018-06-03 05:21:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6598408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afterandalasia/pseuds/afterandalasia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On a diplomatic visit to Paris, Odette is discomforted to meet Judge Claude Frollo, and her anxiety around him only grows.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ave Maria

**Author's Note:**

  * For [saft](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=saft).



> From the [prompt](http://disney-kink.livejournal.com/361.html?thread=361#t361) at Disney Kink.
> 
> Presuming that Derek and Odette's kingdom is non-commitally European, I've labelled it Catholic.

_Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen._   
  


 

 

  
  
She wondered whether her fear was misplaced, sometimes. Whether she imagined the cold eyes that settled upon her body, the shadow on the edge of her vision, the steps that seemed a little too close behind her in the dark. Whether she had imagined that the touch on her hand as it had been kissed in greeting had continued a little too long.  
  
 _"Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum. Benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus..."_  
  
Her voice faltered slightly. Odette looked up from where she knelt at the feet of the statue of Mary, the white marble warm in the candlelight, feet shining from where the hands of thousands had touched the skin, worn it smooth, hoping for their safety. She glanced over her shoulder, quickly, but could see nothing moving in the darkness. The cathedral was so old, so strange, creaking in the night.  
  
 _"Et benedictus fructus ventis tui, Iesus. Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen."_  
  
The delicate coloured glass of the beads clicked between her fingers as she counted on. Derek had been there when they had been presented with them, as gifts; his in set and hers in glittering red and gold glass. The fragments of gold leaf in them trembled slightly in the candlelight.  
  
 _"Ave maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum. Benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus fructus ventis tui, Iesus. Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen."_  
  
Another bead along the rosary. Derek had been so grateful for the gift, so profuse in his thanks to the man that had given it. Odette had been quieter, and folded her hands around it gently with the cold of it so softly piercing, and had avoided the eyes of the giver.  
  
 _"Ave maria, gratia plena-"_  
  
He was a man of God, though. Why she feared that incessant blaze in his eyes she could not understand.  
  
 _"-Dominus tecum. Benedicta tu-"_  
  
The fire of the righteous, she was sure. Desiring to cast out sin from the land. That explained the gift, the beautiful gold-crucifixed rosaries to help them pray.  
  
 _"-in mulierbus, et-"_  
  
She and Derek had returned to the Cathedral several times since. The Judge seemed to enjoy their company, and at least he - unlike many here - did not discount Odette's presence in the room. This was a strange land. Their customs were not the same. Only the prayers-  
  
 _"-benedictus fructus ventis tui, Iesus."_  
  
-were the same, and though it had been many years since Odette had prayed this deeply, head bowed so that her hair framed her vision, cold air on the back of her exposed neck, somehow now it was comforting. Oh, that Derek would meet her as he said he would; he must have been drawn into deep discussion.  
  
 _"Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus-"_  
  
To acknowledge their own sins. To ask for the forgiveness of the Virgin, so that they might find salvation. She was sure that it was a worthy task for a man of God to wish upon those whom he visited, no matter what their status might be.  
  
 _"-nunc et in hora mortis nostrae. A-"_  
  
"Amen."  
  
The voice came from behind her, drawing the sound away from her lips. And then Odette knew, in the shadow of the statue at whose feet she knelt and with the candlelight fluttering around her, that she had been right. That every glance, that every word, had been the offering and the sin which now he wished for her to cast out.  
  
"In the hour of our death..." she said softly, as if entranced, her voice trembling.  
  
A hand was laid on her shoulder, bony strong fingers closing through the cloak and the dress beneath. A new chill edge touched against the back of our neck as again the voice hissed, again the Judge spoke with his breath in her hair.  
  
"Amen."


End file.
